British East India Company and
British Rule India
BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE BRITISH RULE
On arriving in India, the East India Company had to
face the Dutch and the French opposition as they were
the main contestants for economic supremacy over
India. But the British were successful in destabilizing
them and soon the Company’s functions expanded into
political ambitions. While the British company
employed sepoys-European-trained and European-led
Indian soldiers - to protect its trade, local rulers sought
their services to settle scores in regional power
struggles. South India witnessed the first open
confrontation between the British and the French,
whose forces were led by Robert Clive and Francois
Dupleix, respectively. Both companies desired to place
their own candidate as the Nawab of Arcot, an area
near Chennai. At the end of a protracted struggle from
1744 to 1763, when the Peace of Paris was signed, the
British gained an upper hand over the French and
installed their man in power, supporting him further
with arms and lending large sums of money as well.
The French and the British also backed different
factions in the succession struggle for Mughal
viceroyalty in Bengal, but Clive intervened
successfully and defeated Nawab Sirajud-Daulah in
the Battle of Plassey (about 150 km north of Kolkata)
in 1757. Clive was supported by a combination of
vested interests that opposed the existing nawab which
comprised disgruntled soldiers, landholders and
influential merchants whose commercial profits were
closely linked to British fortunes.
The Third Battle of Panipat (1761)
By the middle of eighteenth century, Marathas had
established their influence over Haryana and most of
the North India. They were ably led by the Peshwas.
The expedition of Afghans under the leadership of
Ahmed Shah Abdali in India resulted in the third
Battle of Panipat in 1761. The Afghans forces
defeated the Marathas and ended Maratha supremacy.
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The humiliation of the Marathas, fall of the Mughal
Empire after Aurangzeb's death, gave the British a
chance to consolidate their power. The Marathas were
comprehensively defeated in the battle because they
did not have able allies. Though their infantry was
prepared and trained on European pattern, they failed
to find allies in the North India. They had intervened
in internal matters of Rajput states. They had imposed
heavy taxes and fines on them. They had also made
large territorial and monetary claims upon Avadh.
They had also conducted raids in the sikh territories
angering sikh chiefs. They did not have mutual trust.
Above all, the important Marathas chiefs constantly
quarreled with one another. Each one of them was
very ambitious and hoped of carving out their
independent state. They did not have interest in
fighting against a common enemy.
The English Conquest of Bengal
Nawab Alivardi Khan was the independent
ruler of Bengal between 1740 and 1756. He extended
protection to European merchants carrying on trade.
Alivardi Khan nominated his grandson (daughter’s
son) Siraj-ud-Daulnh as his heir since he had no son.
He died in April 1756. In the meantime, the Company
constructed fortifications at Kolkata and violated the
terms under which they were allowed to trade. Siraj-
ud-Daulah took prompt action and occupied an English
factory at Kasimbazar and later captured Kolkata in
June 1756.
The First Carnatic War (1746)
The French and British companies clashed at
Carnatic. Dupleix was then the chief official of the
French Company at Pondicherry. The French opened
hostilities by sacking Fort St George and expelling all
Englishman. The Nawab of Carnatic, Anwar-ud-din,
sent an army but was defeated by the French in the
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battle of Adyar (also known as battle of St Thomas),
near Chennai. Later, the French tried to force the
English to surrender St David but failed. The English
counterattacked to capture Pondicherry but were
defeated by stiff resistance from the French forces. The
first Carnatic war was ended with theTreaty of Aix La
Chappelle (1748) in Europe.According to this treaty;
the English got back Chennai and the French the
Louisburg region in North America. But Dupleix was
not happy to lose Chennai and did not keep its promise
of returning it, which became the basis of the second
Carnatic war.
Second Carnatic War (1748-1754)
The British were able to consolidate
themselves by taking hold of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
However, they could not digest the growing hold of
the French in the Carnatic. The French had already
joined hands with Chanda Sahib, the Nawab of Arcot.
Muzzafar Jung claimed the throne of Carnatic with the
help of the French and Chanda Sahib by defeating
Anwar-ud-din in the battle of Ambur. The English
entered into an agreement with Muzzafar Jung’s uncle,
Nasir Jung, and helped him to defeat Muzzafar Jung
and Chanda Sahib in 1750. Later. Chanda Sahib was
defeated and killed and the entire Carnatic fell into the
hands of the English. In the second battle between the
French and the British, the French were defeated. In
1754, Dupleix was sent back to France and succeeded
by General Godeheu. Godeheu went to the English
with a peace proposal, the Treaty of Pondicherry
(1754) which the English accepted. Later, as per the
Treaty or Tiruchirapalli (1755), the French had to
return all that they had captured and both nations
retained their old positions. However, the English
negotiated hard to get the northern Circar area also.
Growing British Monopoly in Trade
Even before the acquisition of Diwani of Bengal in
1765, the East India Company had begun to exercise
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considerable political influence in Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa, which led to the ruin of Indian industry and
oppression of weavers. While the foreign trade of
Bengal, which was the richest part of India at that
time, became the monopoly of the company, the
internal trade in more important commodities like raw
material was monopolized by superior servants of the
company in their personal capacity. The monopoly of
trade in raw materials helped to raise the prices to the
manufacturers, while monopoly of purchase
(monopsony) of finished products tended to lower the
prices of the manufacturers. These restrictive
practices together with providing the company s
investments or purchasing goods in the interior
through the agency of ‘gumashtas’ ruined the weavers
and other artisans. But things did not stop there. The
scales were heavily weighted against Indian
manufacturers in two other ways, the first was the
system of inland duties which offered protection to
foreign products and the other was bringing many
other products in the ambit of duty structure which
were earlier duty-free.
Black-Hole Tragedy (1756)
It is said that 146 English prisoners, held by
the nawab of Bengal, were crowded into a small
chamber that had a single, tiny window on a hot
summer night of 20 June 1756. As a result, several of
them died of suffocation and wounds. Only 23
prisoners survived this tragedy. However, historians
still treat this tragedy as a myth rather than reality. The
news of this tragedy reached Chennai and it aroused
the indignation of Englishmen in India. In December
1756, Colonel Clive and Admiral Watson reached
Bengal from Chennai to take revenge for the black-
hole tragedy. The English captured Kolkata but later
restored relations with Siraj-ud-Daulah who restored
all privileges to the English and allowed them to
fortify Kolkata. However, to Clive it was a pact made
for appearances. In order to take revenge for the black-
hole tragedy, he provoked Mir Jafar (commander-in-
chief of the Nawab), Rai Durlab (treasurer of the
Nawab) and Jagat Seth (a rich banker of Bengal) to
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conspire against the Nawab. Mir Jafar, brother-in-law
of Alivardi Khan, had a secret pact with Clive who
promised him the state of Bengal. Mir Jafar,
nevertheless, also assured his support to Siraj-ud-
Daulah against the English.
Map 3.2 The British in Bengal During 1756
- 1765
Battle of Plassey (1757)
Robert Clive led the Company's forces against
Siraj-ud-Daulah’s army on 23 June 1757 and defeated
them with the help of his behind-the-scene agreement
with Mir Jafar. This proved to be the first step towards
territorial supremacy and paved the way for the British
conquest of Bengal and eventually the whole country.
The Nawab was captured and executed and Mir Jafar
was installed as the Nawab of Bengal. He ceded
zamindari rights of 24 Parganas and got 1,67,00,000 as
compensation. This was the first British acquisition on
Indian soil. The victory in the Battle of Plassey is not a
remarkable one from a military point of view. The
conspiracy of the Nawabs and the commanders helped
the English to win an easy victory. But its results were
far reaching and they opened a new era in the history
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of India. This battle added to the strength and prestige
of the British company and also exposed the corrupt
politicians of Bengal.
Third Carnatic War (1756-1763)
The soft stance of General Godeheu gave the
English the necessary confidence which propelled
them to consolidate their position further. With the
advent of the Seven Year’s War in Europe,* the
relations between the English and the French became
hostile in India as well. France appointed Count Lally
as Commander-in-Chief and Governor of India. He
posed a stiff challenge to the English and made an
unsuccessful attempt to capture Chennai. Lally was
defeated by Sir Eyre Coote in the Battle of Wandiwash
in January 1760 which sealed the fate of French in
India. In 1761, he surrendered with the fall of
Pondicherry. The third war ended with the Treaty of
Paris in 1763, which foiled the dreams of the French to
have an empire in India.
Battle of Buxar (1764)
At the instigation of Mir Qasim, successor of
Mir Jafar, this battle was fought by Nawab Shuja-ud-
Daula of Awadh and Shah Alam II (Mughal) on the
one side and the English forces Jed by Clive on the
other side, on 23 October 1764. Clive’s forces were
victorious, resulting in the capture of Bihar and
Bengal. Later, Clive defeated the Mughal forces at
Buxar (Baksar, west of Patna in Bihar), and the
Mughal emperor (Shah Alam II, r. 1759-1806)
conferred administrative rights over Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa-a region of roughly 25 million people with huge
annual revenue - on the company. The imperial grant
virtually established the company as a sovereign power
and Clive became the first British Governor of Bengal.
Dual Government of Bengal (1765-1772)
The Nuwab of Bengal had two functions under
his domain during Mughal rule: (i) Nazamat
(militarycontrol and criminal justice) and (ii) Diwani
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(revenne collection and civil justice). The Company
was able to claim the nazamat of Bengal from the
Nawab during February 1765, and later Shah Alam,
the emperor, ceded the diwani also to the Company
during August 1765. This double governance
established by Clive did not work; although they war
given the control over the province, the officials did
not show any responsibility towards the administration
and were not held accountable for any misdeed. Their
lack of responsibility towards the people of the
province was exposed during the famine of 1770 in
which thousands of people died. This dried up
revenues for the company also. The evil of the system
made the company financially sick; however, the
directors of the company found out that the
Englishmen who served the company in India were
returning home with rich fortunes. In 1772, the
company abolished the dual governance system and
appointed Warren Hastings (1772-1785) as Governor-
General to discipline the proceedings in Bengal. He
carried out a large number of administrative, judicial,
revenue and commercial reforms.
Sanyasi Rebellion
In late eighteenth century, in Bengal (India), the
activities of Sanyasis were known as the Sanyasi
Rebellion. Three different events in Indian history are
called the Sanyasi revolts or rebellion. The first one
refers to a major chunk of Hindu fakirs who travelled
from North India to different parts of Bengal to visit
shines. During the journey, these Sanyasis or fakirs
took a religious tax from the headman and regional
landlords. In good times, they generally paid the
taxes. But when East India Company Started levying
the taxes these landlords and headman were unable to
pay both the ascetics and the English at a time.
Moreover, the famine which killed approximately one
crore people in Bengal aggravated the situation.
During the period of 1771-72, nearly 145 saints were
put to death without any valid reason.Due to this, the
distress prevailed which led to the violence. Many
historians argue that Sanyasis did not gain people's
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support ever.
The other two Sanysis movement had the
involvement of Hindu ascetics.These Hindu Sanyasis
which were known as the Dasnomi Naga, visited
Bengal on pilgrimage mixed with money lending
opportunities.
The Sanyasi rebellion was the first of a series
of revolts and, rebellions in the Western districts of
the province including the Chuar Revolt of 1799 and
the. Santhal revolt of 1855-56.
The Regulating Act of 1773
The British Parliament enacted a series of laws
to curb the company trader’s unrestrained commercial
activities and to bring about some order in territories
under company control The most import ant among
which is the ordinance prescribing certain rules for the
company. Thus, this is called the Regulating Act of
1773. This Act aimed to limit the company charter to
periods of 20 years, subject to review upon renewal;
the 1773 Act gave the British government supervisory
rights over the Bengal. Mumbai and Chennai
presidencies. Bengal was given pre-eminence over the
rest because of its enormous commercial vitality and
because it was the seat of British power in India (at
Kolkata), and its Governor was elevated to the new
position of Governor-General. Warren Hastings was
the first incumbent (1773 1785). The Act was aimed at
maintaining a sort of balance in the company’s
administration, but in practice it failed its basic
objective due to certain loopholes in the Act itself.
Two new government organizations were set up to
help the Governor-General to administer effectively:
the British Supreme Court of Kolkata and the Kolkata
Council. The relationship between the Governor-
General and these new government offices was not
specified clearly in terms of law. Warren Hastings had
to wrestle tor his powers with both the Supreme Court
and the Council on many occasions. He was
condemned by the Council on the Rohilla War and for
his decisions against the Begumof Awadh. These
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organizations reverted many of his administrative
decisions which brought them in open conflict with the
company. In 1781 an Amending Act was passed,
which greatly reduced the powers of these
organizations and allowed the company to assert its
powers efficiently.
Conquest of Sind (1843)
In September 1842, Sir Charles Napier was sent to
Sindh as commander of British Forces with full civil,
political and military powers. He old 'Amirs' that he
was convinced that the charges of deloyality against
them during the Afghan war were founded. So the
treaty with them must be revised and that would
mean cession of territory, provision of fuel for
steamers on the Indus and the loss of right to coinage.
Before Amirs could indicate their assent to these
terms, Napier acted as if they had refused them and
razed the fortress of Imamgarh to ground. Under the
threat of 'war, the Amirs hastened to accept the
demands, but their patience was exhausted and they
rose in revolt. Defeated at Miomi in February 1843,
they were exiled and Sind was annexed
The Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816)
The Anglo-Nepalese War which was caused largely
by frontier incidents lasted from 1814 to 1816.
Ochtertary's victory at Makwanpur in February 1816
led to the conclusion of' the Treaty of Sugauli. The
Nepal ruler gave up his claim to Sikkim, ceded the
disputed Terai tracts and received a residence at
Kathmandu Thus, the Northern frontier was given
settled limits. This also marked the Britishsovereignty
in internal India with only Punjab frontier open.
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-1782)
The First Anglo-Maratha war took place
during the Governor-Generalship of Warren Hastings.
After the third battle of Panipat, the Marathas began to
rise again; the weak Mughal, rulers granted them
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certain special privileges which made them strong
under Peshwa Madhava Rao. The English could not
tolerate their growth arid crushed the Marathas,
violating the Treaty of Banaras. The Peshwa Madhava
Rao was killed and a war of succession emerged
between Raghunatha Rao (Ragobha) and Narayana
Rao. Narayana Rao finally succeeded in becoming the
Peshwa but was soon toppled by Raghunatha. Later, in
a coup for succession, Nana Fadnavis ousted
Raghunatha Rao and made Madhva Rao II, the
Peshwa. In 1775, Raghunatha Rao made the Treaty of
Surat with the British at Mumbai. As per this treaty,
the British were to support him in becoming the
Peshwa; in return he was to give Salsette and Bahssein
to the British. The events that led to the Anglo-
Maratha conflicts emerged from the failure of the 1775
Treaty of Surat. The British Governor of Bengal did
not approve this treaty and another treaty was made
with the Peshwa Madhava Rao II - the Treaty of
Purander (1776). Raghunatha Rao and the British
Governor at Mumbai were on the one side and the
Peshwa Madhava Rao and G. G. Hastings (British
Governor at Bengal) were on the other. The British
Governor of Mumbai complained to the Board of
Directors against the attitude of the Bengal Governor.
The Board honoured the contract made with
Raghunatha Rao, also known as the Convention of
Vadangaon, and once again the Mumbai Governor
began the war to restore him to power. The British
were defeated and as per the Treaty of Vadangaon,
Raghunatha Rao was handed over to the Peshwa
Madhva Rao.
Salbai Treaty (1782),
Warren Hayings refused to ratify the
convention and advanced towards Poona and Gwalior
(capital of Scindia). In 1779, a confederacy was
formed against the English, which includedthe Nizam
of Oudh, Hyder Ali and the Marathas. The English, in
their term, bribed the Raja of Nagpur and befriended
Mahadji Scindia to strengthen their power in the
region. However, the war ended with the Treaty of
Salabai (1782) and status quo was restored. The
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Maratha were beaten and the British got control over
Salsette. Raghunatha Rao was given a pension and
Madhav Rao II was made the Peshwa.
The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1802-
1806)
After the Treaty of Salbai in 1782, for the next
20 years, the British and Marathas were at peace.
During this period, Nana Fadnavis emerged as an
influential administrator. He kept a check on advances
by Mahadji Scindia, who had by now completed his
conquest of Gwalior and Gohad. After the death of
Peshwa Madhav Rao II in 1795, Baji Rao II became
the next Peshwa. He was under the influence of
Mahadji Scindia and subdued Nana Fadnavis, who
later died in 1800. The other Maratha leaders, like
Daulat Rao Scindia of Gwalior and Yashwant Rao
Holkar of Indore, wanted to teach Baji Rao II and
Mahadji Scindia a lesson. Holkar challenged Mahadji
Scindia and defeated the combined forces of the
Peshwa and Mahadji Scindia and besieged Poona. Baji
Rao II fled Poona and signed the Treaty of Bessein
(1802) with the British. This treaty helped the
Marathas to flush out Holkar from Poona but the terms
of the treaty made the Second Anglo-Maratha war
inevitable. A confederacy of Maratha rulers - Scindia.
Holkar and Peshwa - emerged, but the Marathas were
still not united and Peshwa and Holkar gave little
support to the confederacy. It was Scindia who joined
hands with Bhonsleof Nagpur and led their armies
against the British provinces. However, the British,
under Governor-General Wellesley, defeated the
Marathas and subdued Bhonsle by signing the Treaty
of Dedgaon and the Scihdia by the treaty of Surji-
Anjangaon. Thus, the results of the Second Anglo-
Maratha War benefited the British more than the first
war. But the British government was still not satisfied
with the Governor- General’s dealing of the Marathas
and, therefore, further curtailed the powers of the
Maratha rulers. Thus, after the Second Anglo-Maratha
War the Maratha rulers were reduced to the status of
puppets in the hands of the British.
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The Third Maratha War (1817-1819)
After the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the
Maratha confederacy was constituted of weak states.
Only a few of them were powerful. Scindia at Gwaliar,
Bhonsle at Nagpur, Holkar at Indore, Gaekwad at
Baroda and the Peshwa had some strength left. The
Peshwas were the head of the confederacy but all
others were independent. The Peshwa Baji Rao II
wanted to overcome the Treaty of Bassein, which was
leading to the downfall of Marathas. He wanted to
rejuvenate the Maratha confederacy. The Gaekwad of
Baroda was still friendly to the British and he used to
bully his other member rulers in the confederacy. The
Peshwa;. Baji Rao II cut him to size by seizing
Amhedabad from him. The Gaekwad resorted to the
British for help. The ' British entered into the Treaty of
Poona (1817) with the. Peshwa and urged him to
return Ahmedabad. After this, the Peshwa was just a
feudatory of the British and was no longer the leader
of the Maratha confederacy. Later, the Peshwa tried to
recollect the support of Maratha rulers under the
confederacy against the British. But he was let down
by the other Maratha rulers and was defeated by the
British General, Elphinston, in the Battle of Kirki
(1818). With this, the Maratha rulers lost almost all
their privileges,, which led to the downfall of the
Maratha power.
The First Mysore War (1787-1769)
Mysore was a powerful state under the
Sarvadhikari of Mysore, HyderAli (1722-1782), and
almost the whole of Carnatic was under him. In 1769,
the first Anglo-Mysore War.was fought in which the
British forces were defeated. Hyder Ali Virtually
dictated the terms of the peace and entered into the
Treaty of Chennai (1769) with the English, This treaty
with the English was in favour of Hyder Ali as he was
always in danger of attack from Maratha rulers. In
1770; The Marathas under the Peshwa Madhav Rao
invaded Mysore and Hyder Ali turned to the English
for aid as per the treaty. As the neutral stance of the
English at the moment of crisis forced Hyder Ali to
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conclude a treaty with the Peshwas, but he now
considered the English as his enemy.
The Second Mysore War (1780 1782)
After the first Mysore War, hyder Ali joined
the cofederacy of native kings who were aganist the
English. He inflicted defeat on British in the battle of
pollilur. In 1780 he later annexed Arcot from the
British. However, in 1781, Hyder Ali was defeated at
Porto’ Novo. His son, Tipu Sultan, marched towards
Tanjore and defeated the English forces. Hyder Ali
eventually died in 1782, fighting the English forces in
Chitoor, which led to the end of Second Anglo-
Mysore War in 1782. The Treaty of Mangalore (1784)
was signed between the two parties by which only the
prisoners of wars were released from both sides.
The Pitt's India Act of 1784
In order to rectify some defects,in the India
Bill of 1773, King George V passed an ordinance that
came to be known as the Pitt’s India Act, sometimes
described as the half-loaf system, as it sought to
mediate between the Parliament and the company
directors. However, it enhanced the Parliament’s
control by establishing the Board of Control,
constituting six members selected from the cabinet
itself. They were the Secretary for Finance, Secretary
of State for India and four Privy Councillors of State
for India. The new Act did not interfere with the
business aspect of the company. The company
directions 'still had the power to look to the
administrative matters and appointments. However, the
Board of Control had the power to appoint the
Governor-General. The Governor- General now had to
take permission from the Board of Control before
entering into any treaty or declaring war against native
kings. Thus, there was dual governance in the country,
which continued till 1858.
The Third Mysore War (1790-1792)
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King of Travancore was an ally of the English
and when Tipu Sultan invaded Travancore, Lord
Cornwallis declared the Third Anglo-Mysore War
against Tipu Sultan in 1790. The English formed a
confederacy with the Marathas and the Nizam. The
British defeated Tipu Sultan in the battles of
Mangalore and Srirangapatnam and captured
Bangalore in 1791. Tipu Sultan had to surrender half
of his kingdom to the British as per the humiliating
Treaty of Srirangapatnam (1792). The British levied a
huge compensation of RS 3 crore on Tipu Sultan and
took his two sons as hostage until he paid his dues.
Tipu Sultan (1782-1799)
Tipu Sultan was the son of Hyder Ali he was born on
20 November 1753. He was an astute ruler who
followed his father’s policy, Alter Hyder Ali, the war
was carried on by Tipu Sultan. He was a man of
ambition and known as the 'Tiger ofMysore'. He was
a learned ruler who knew Kannada, Persian, English
as well as French. At the age of 16, he began helping
his father to fight the English forces. He is
remembered for his brave efforts in the Battle of
Polilur and later annexure of Tanjore in 1782. He was
coronated on 4 May 1783, after the death of Hyder
Ali Later he fought theThird and Fourth Anglo-
Mysore Wars. He died 16 years later on the same date
(4 May 1799) trying to defend the fort of
Srirangapatnam from the English.
The Fourth Mysore War (1799)
After the humiliating defeat of Third Mysore
War, Tipu Sultan started venturing out for help from
France, Turkey, Mauritius and Afghanistan. Lord
Wellesley suggested Tipu Sultan to end his
manoeuvres and threatened Tipu Sultan with terrible
consequences. However, Tipu Sultan was not to be
bogged down and Lord Wellesley invaded the fort of
Srirangapatnam in 1799. Tipu Sultan was killed
defending the fort in 1799, and later Mysore was
divided by the British into four parts. While the
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English kept three parts, the fourth part was awarded
to the Wodeyar of Mysore, who became a British ally.
The statute of 1813 on Education
In the year 1813, the British government passed a
Charter for the expansion of education in India. The
government reserved a grant of one lakh for it. Two
schools of thoughts—Orientalists and the
Anglicists—appeared for the appropriation of funds.
The Orentalists were of the opinion that the most
appropriate medium of education is the local
language, whereas the Anglicists supported in favour
of education in the English language. Astonishingly,
the reserved funds' were not used for the next 27
years, till a committee which was established under
the leadership of Lord Macaulay recommended in
1830, that the funds as per Chater of 1813, should be
utilised for encouraging English literature, western
science, philosophy and art.
The Charter Act of 1813 (the Lease Act)
The Charter of 1793 permitted the East India
Company to extend its commercial activities in Eastern
countries. It was valid for 20 years. Therefore, the
British parliament renewed it and named it the Charter
Act in 1813, valid for the next 20 years. The new
charter recognized British moral responsibility by
introducing just and humane laws in India,
foreshadowing future social legislation and outlawing
a number of traditional practices such as sati and
thugee (robbery coupled with ritual murder). Through
this Charter, Indian trade was thrown open to all the
British merchants, thus, ending the commercial
monopoly of the East India Company. The Act clearly
upheld the British queen’s sovereignty over the
company’s territories in India. It also had a special
statute that provided funds for the development of
education in India.
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The Character Act of 1833
The next review of the Charter Act of 1813
was to be made in the year 183.3. The British
merchant lobby was putting pressure on the British
Parliament to lake responsibility of running the Indian
administration because the East India Company was
putting hurdles before the new companies that wished
to establish business in India. However, some political
constraints forced the Parliament to renew the Charter
Act for another 20 years. The British Parliament
persisted with the practice of running the Indian
administration through the Board of Control of the
Company, but it put an end to the company's
monopoly in tea trade with India and general trade
with China. Now.new companies were allowed to
settle in Indian territories and even purchase
properties, The procedural barriers and the licensing
system that had been in place for new traders were
removed. This Act shifted the company’s role from
merely commercial to administrative and political. The
Governor oh Bengal was made the Governor-General
of India and a new Presidency of Agra was created.
The presidencies of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta
came under the direct control of the Governor-General.
The most significant event was the common, civil and
criminal procedure codes by the law commission,
presided by Macaulay, which were prepared for the
entire country.
First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-1826)
The Government of India under Lord Amherst
(1823-1828) was alarmed at the Burmese conquest
of Assam and Manipur. In September 1823, the
Burmese attacked Chittagong and Bengal territories
which were under the control of the company. Lord
Amherst declared war in February 1824. The war
continued for more than 2 years as Rangoon fell in
May 1824 and Prome (the capitol of lower Burma)
in April 1825. Hostilities were ended by the Treaty
of Yandaboo concluded in February 1826 by which
the king of Ava agreed to cede many provinces to
the company.
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The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839)
In order to bring down Dost Muhammad from
the throne of Afghanistan, the English Governor-
General, Lord Auckland, formed a triple alliance with
Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja. The English
forces defeated Dost Muhammad in the First Anglo-
Afghan War in 1839 captured Kabul and helped Shah
Shuja to occupy the throne. As Shah Shuja was not an
able administrator, the English lost their importance in
Afghanistan thereafter. Dost Muhammad, along with
his supporters, reclaimed the throne, trapping the
English. Lord Auckland’s police on Afghanistan met
severe criticism and he was recalled to England. Later,
Lord Lawrence (1864-1869). Lord Mayo (1869-1872)
and Lord North Brooke (1872-1876) followed a policy
of neutrality in the case of Afghans.
The Charter Act of 1853
When the Act of 1833 expired, another review
of this Act was undertaken in 1853. The most striking
point of this Act was that the validity period of the
Charter Act oi l 853 was not determined. This Act
considerably reduced the powers of the East India
Company. It allowed the company to run the
administration of the Indian territories in the name of
the crown. However, the approval of the British
Parliament for every decision was made mandatory.
The Parliament also provided for the examination of
the rules and regulations, reports and drafts prepared
by the law commission. This Charter Act is also
regarded as the final link in the chain of such
enactments. Earlier, the Indian nationals were not
considered for the appointment in the Indian Civil
Services. The Court of Directors made
recommendations for making appointments in the civil
services. The Charter of 1853 ended this practice and
the Charter began the practice of selecting civil
servants through competitive examination.
Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852)
Under Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856), the Second
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Anglo-Burmese War was fought in sharp contrast to
the first war The first war was 'he result of Burma's
aggressive policy of expression The second war was
due to ill treatment of same English merchants at
Rangoon and insults heaped on the captain of the
British frigate, who had been sent to remonstrate.
Lord Dalhouse's thorough-going preparations for the
campaign yielded good results. The lower valley of
Irrawaddy, from Rangoon to Prome, was occupied in'
few months as the king of Ava referred to enter into
negotiation, it was annexed by proclamation in
December 1852, under the name of ‘Pegu’
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878)
After the death of Dost Muhammad, the
problem of succession started over the Afghan throne.
The English were happy to keep the Russians away
from Indian frontiers by being neutral to the internal
problems of Afghanistan. But as the presence of the
Russians in CentralAsia became strong in 1874, the
Secretary to state of India, Lord Salisbury, suggested
the appointment of a British representative in
Afghanistan. This was not appreciated by the Viceroy
Lord North Brooke, who tendered his resignation. He
was replaced by Lord Lytton (1876-1880) as the
Viceroy of India. Lord Lytton reversed the British
Policy of neutrality and invaded Afghanistan in 1878,
starting the Second Anglo-Afghan conflict. The
English completed a remarkable victory and entered
into the Treaty of Gandamak (1879) with the Afghans.
The Third Anglo-Afghan War
This is also remembered as the Panjdei
Incident of 1884 .The Russians captured Panjdei and
the English prepared to wage a war against the
Russians in Afghan territory. But the Ameer of
Afghanistan, Sher Ali, did not want his territory to
become a battleground between the English and the
Russians. With the arbitration ot the King of Denmark.
Lord Dufferin was able to resolve the issue by
demarking a boundary line between the Russian-
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occupied regions and Afghan-controlled states. Later,
in 1901, the new Ameer of Afghanistan.Amanullah,
declared war against the British. But the British
defeated the Afghan forces thoroughly and occupied
Jallalabad and Kabul. The Third Anglo-Afghan War
came to an end with the Treaty of Rawalpindi (1921).
Governors between Clive and Hastings
John Zephaniah Holwell succeeded Robert Clive
as Governor of Bengal in 1760. But he was
replaced by Henry Vansittart in the same year.
Vansittart officiated as Governor till 1765, till the
return of Robert Clive’s health deteriorated in
1765, he was succeeded by Harry Verelst (1767-
1769) and then John Cartier (1769-1772) before
Warren Hastings was sent to India in 1772.
BRITISH GOVERNORS UNDER
COMPANY RULE (1758-1857)
A multiplicity of motives underlay British
penetration into India: commerce, security and a
purported moral uplift of the people. The ‘expansive
force’ of private and company trade eventually led to
the conquest or annexation of territories in which
spices, cotton and opium were produced. British
investors ventured into the unfamiliar interior
landscape in search of opportunities that promised
substantial profits. British economic penetration was
aided by Indian collaborators such as the bankers and
merchants who controlled intricate credit networks.
British rule in India would have been a frustrated or
halt-realized dream had their Indian counterparts not
provided connections between rural and urban centres.
External threats, both real and imagined, such
as the Napoleanic Wars (1796-1815) and the Russian
expansion towards Afghanistan (in the 1830s), as well
as the desire for internal stability, led to the annexation
of more territories in India. Political analysts in Britain
wavered initially as they were uncertain ol the costs or
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the advantages of undertaking wars in India, but by
1810, as the territorial aggrandisement eventually paid
off, opinion in London welcomed the absorption of
new areas. Occasionally the British Parliament
witnessed heated debates against expansion, but
arguments justifying military operations for security
reasons always won over even the most vehement
critics.
The British soon forgot their own rivalry with
the Portuguese and the French and permitted them to
stay in their coastal enclaves, which they kept even
after Indian independence in 1947. The British,
however, continued to expand vigorously well into the
1850s.
A number of aggressive Governor-Generals
undertook relentless campaigns against several Hindu
and Muslim rulers. Among them were Richard Colley
Wellesley (1798-1805). William Pitt Amherst (1823-
1828) George Eden (1836-1842), Edward Law (1842-
1844) and James Andrew Brown Ramsay (1848-1856),
who is also known as the Marquess of Dalhousie.
Despite desperate efforts at salvaging their tottering
power and keeping the British at bay, many Hindu and
Muslim rulers lost their territories: Mysore (1799, but
later restored), the Maratha Confederacy (1818) and
Punjab (1849). British success in large measure was
the result not only of their superiority in tactics and
weapons but also of their ingenious relations with
Indian rulers through the ‘subsidiary alliance’ system,
introduced in the early nineteenth century. Many rulers
bartered away their real responsibilities by agreeing to
uphold British puramountcy in India, while they
retained a fictional sovereignty under the rubric of Pax
Britannica. Later, Dalhousie espoused the Doctrine of
Lapse and annexed outright the estates of deceased
princes of Satara (1848). Udaipur (1852), Jhansi
(1853), Tanjore (1853). Nagpur (1854) and Oudh
(1856).
European perceptions of India and those of the
British especially, shifted from unequivocal
appreciation to sweeping condemnation of India’s past
Page 10

achievements and customs. Imbued with an
ethnocentric sense of superiority, British intellectuals,
including Christian missionaries, spearheaded a
movement that sought to bring Western intellectual
and technological innovations' to Indians.
Interpretations of the causes of India’s cultural and
spiritual ‘backwardness’ varied, as did the solutions.
Many argued that it was Europe’s mission to civilize
India and hold it as a trust until the Indians proved
themselves competent forself rule.
The immediate consequence of this sense of
superiority was to open India to more, aggressive
missionary activity. The contributions of three
missionaries based in Serampore (a Danish enclave in
Bengal) — William Carey, Joshua Marsh man and
William Ward — remain unequalled and have
provided inspiration for future generations of
missionaries. The missionaries translated the Bible into
local languages, taught company officials the local
languages, and. after 1813, gained permission to
proselytise in the company’s territories. Although the
actual number of converts remained negligible, except
in rare instances when entire groups embraced
Christianity, such as the Nambuthiris in the south or
the Nagas in the north-east, the missionary impact on
India through publishing, schools, orphanages,
vocational institutions, dispensaries and hospitals was
unmistakable.
Robert Clive
The English force were led by Robert Clive to
capture Arcot and other regions in the south and was
instrumental in laying the foundation of the British
Empire in India. In the Carnatic Wars between the
French and the English, the latter finally defeated the
French in the Battle of Wandiwash to gain control over
South India. In 1758, the East India Company
appointed Clive as the first Governor of Bengal. He
had served two terms: as Governor of Bengal during
1758-1760 (3 years) and 1765-1769 (5 years). Clive is
remembered as the founder of the British Empire in
India. Clive remained in England from 1760 to 1765
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and on his return in 1765, the, emperor ceded the
diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the company.
He is also credited with the ruin of the people of
Bengal as he introduced a dual system of governance
(1765—1772) in Bengal. But Clive is best
remembered for rectifying the structural defects of the
British governance system and for permanently
settling affairs with the Mughal emperor.
Contemporary historians consider him to be the first
British administrator who envisaged a definite
governance policy, for the East India Company.
Warren, Hastings (1772-1785)
Warren Hastings reached India in 1772 as
Governor of Bengal and became the first Governor-
General of India in 1774. He introduced several
reforms, established civil and criminal courts, and
courts of appeal. During his tenure, the British
Parliament passed the Regulating Act, 1773, giving a
legalized working constitution to the company’s
dominion in India. It envisaged a Council of Ministers
headed by the Governor-General. He is best
remembered for the revenue, judicial and trade reforms
he brought to the system.
Sir John Macpherson (1775-1786)
Warren Hastings was succeeded by
Macpherson in 1775. Macpherson remained at the
helm of company’s affairs in India from almost 12
years, till 1786. The Pitt’s India Act of 1784 was also
passed during his tenure, which placed the Company’s
affairs in permanent, centralized control of the British
Parliament, during his time.
Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793)
Lord Cornwallis succeeded Macpherson in
1787. As Governor-General of India for nearly 8 years,
Charles Cornwallis (the Marquis of Cornwallis)
professionalised, bureaucratised and Europeanised the
company’s administration. He also outlawed private
trade by company employees, separated the
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commercial and administrative functions, and
remunerated company servants with generous
graduated salaries. He created the Civil Services of
India. He introduced a new revenue system under the
Permanent Settlement of Bengal, In 1793 with a view
to stabilizing land revenue and creating a loyal
contented class of zamindars, and the East Indian
Company acted as overlord over them. This led to an
increase in the number of litigations. This abolished
periodic auction of zamindari rights and established
permanent zamindari rights to collect land revenue
from tenants and pay a fixed amount to the
government treasury every year.
REVENUE REFORMSBecause revenue
collection became the company’s most essential
administrative function. Cornwallis made u pact with
Bengali zamindars, who were perceived as the Indian
counterparts to the British landed gentry. The
Permanent Settlement system, also known as the
zamindari system, fixed taxes in perpetuity in return
for ownership of large estates, but the state was
excluded from agricultural expansion, which came
under the purview of the zamindars. In Chennai and
Mumbai, however, the ryotwari (peasant) settlement
system was set in motion. In this system, the
government surveyed and assessed the land before
taxing them, pattas were given to the Ryots and the
rent was paid directly by the peasants to the
government.
In the long run, neither the zamindari nor the ryotwari
systems proved effective because India was integrated
into an international economic and pricing system over
which the company had no control, while an increasing
number of people subsisted on agriculture due to the
lack of other employment^ Millions of people
involved in the heavily taxed Indian textile industry
also lost their markets as they were unable to compete
successfully with cheaper textiles produced from
Indian raw materials in Lancashire's mills.
JUDICIAL REFORMS Beginning with the
Mayor's Court, established in 1727, for civil litigation
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in Mumbai. Kolkata and Chennai, justice in the
interior came under the company’s jurisdiction. In
1772, an elaborate judicial system, known as adalat,
established civil and criminal jurisdictions along with a
complex set of codes or rules of procedure and
evidence. Both Hindu pandits and Muslim qazis
(sharia court judges) were recruited to aid the
presiding judges in interpreting their customary laws,
but in other instances. British common and statutory
laws became applicable. In extraordinary situations
where none of these systems was applicable, the
judges were enjoined to adjudicate on the basis of
‘justice, equity and good conscience. The legal
profession provided numerous opportunities for
educated and talented Indians who were unable to
secure positions in the company, and, as a result,
Indian lawyers later dominated nationalist politics and
reform movements.
Notable Rulers in India (1720-1949)
Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (1722-1739) - Awadh,
Safdar Jung (1739-1754) - Awadh; Shuja-ud-daulah
(1754-1775) - Awadh; Asaf-ud-daulah (1775-1797) -
Awadh; Wazir Ali (1797-1798) - Awadh; Nizarm-ul-
Mulk Asaf Jah (1724-1748) - Hyderabad; Nasir Jung
(1748-1750) – Hyderabad; Muzaffar Jung (1750-
1751) – Hyderabad; Salabat Jung (1751-1760) –
Hyderabad; Nizam Ali (1760-1803) – Hyderabad;
Sikandar Jah (1803-1829) – Hyderabad; Nasir-ud-
daulah (1829-1857) Hyderabad Afjal-ud-daulah
(1857-1869) - Hyderabad; Mahabat Ali Khan (1869-
1911) - Hyderabad; Osman Ali Khan (1911-1949) -
Hyderabad, Hyder Ali (1761-1782) - Mysore, Tipu
Sultan (1782-1799) - Mysore, Ranjit Singh (1792-
1839) – Punjab.
Land Revenue Administration And Land Reforms
Permanent Land Settlement at Zamindari System. As
per the prevailing land revenue administration system
during the lenure of Warren Hastings, the collection
of land revenue was entrusted to the highest bidder
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who was to pay a fixed amount tothe government and
in turn, could collect as much as they couldfrom the
farmers. The government remained the owner of the
andland. The bid system was devised to give the
company a regular source ofincome with
minimumadministrative effort, but this actually led to
fluctuation in revenues as many bidders used to run
away when they were not elite to pay the revenue to
the government.In 1793, Lord Cornwallis supported
by his advisor Sir John Shore introduced the
Permanent land Settlement. The zamindar (or
landlord) was made the owner of be land and he
could sell, pledge or divide land between his family
members. In return, he was to give a fixed amount of
revenue to the government every year, and in case or
inability to pay the revenue, the government Could
revoke the right of the zamindar and entrust the same
to some other person.To start with, each zamindar
was given land on a 10 year lease and the zamindars
who paid regular revenues were made the ultimate
owners of the land This new system helped
zamindars to increase productivity and at the same
time reap more profits as the land revenue was fixed.
But later the zamindars became autocrats and starred
exploitingthe farmers and the land.As the miseries of
the farmers increased the system was abolished in
Bengal by passing the WestBengal Land Acquisition
Act, 1855.
Mirasdari System In the Chennai Presidency, the
Palegar system was prevalent during the early years
of nineteenth century. The palegars were the
landlords who exercised judicial powers and also
possessed military powers. They were allowed by the
British to collect land revenue to the tune of 50 per
cent of the annual production. In 1855, the Governor
of Chennai, Sir Thomas Monroe, abolished the
palegar system, by curtailing their legal and military
powers and reducing them to the states of mere
revenue collectors. These palegars were called
Mirasdars. The eldest landlord became the mirasdar.
He was not necessarily the owner of the land coming
under his miasdari. The farmers were the actual land
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owners and had to pay regular revenue. The
defaulters, even in case of famine or drought, were
penalized and after 30 years of introducing the
mirasdar system, the government had to replace it
with the ryotwari system.
Ryotwari System The ryotwari system was first
introduced in the Chennai Presidency during the
Munroe period. The ryots (or the cultivators), whose
condition had reached the lowest during the Bengal
famine, were helped greatly by this new system. The
ryots, who had become slaves to the zamindars and
mirasdars were able to improve their hereditary land
under thissystem. This system established a direct
link between the government and the ryots or
farmers. There were no zamindars and now inthis
case government acted as zamindars. The twofold
advantage that the government benefitted from
implementing this system was that the government
was getting extra revenue from the land as more and
more ryots has become enthusiastic because of their
improving economic condition. This increased the
productivity from the land and also led theryots to
cultivate more land, which used to be lying idle.
Also, the governmentstarted getting support from the
ryots as the system had freed them from the
authority of the zamindars. However, the biggest
defect of this system was that it proved unfavourable
to the ownership of private property, fairness of royal
life and co-existence.
Mahalwari System This was a scientific land revenue
settlement implemented by Lord Bentincck. He got
the land records surveyed and divided the land into
mahals on the basis of village communities, with
separate estates. The settlement for 30 years on each
estate was given to the village chief or elders. These
states were further divided among cultivators
according to the measurements of the detailed survey.
The rights of cultivators were safeguarded in this
system and the government kept a paid servant,
called patwari, to manage land revenue as well as
land administration accounts. The patwaries from a
group of villages used to report to the talukdars, who
were established landlords with good past records.
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The Nawabs of Bengal (1717-1772)
Murshid Quli Khan (1717-1727); Shuja-ud-din
(1727-1739); Sarfraz Khan (1739-1740); Alivardi
Khan (1740-1756); Sirajud Daulah (1756-1757), Mir
Jafar (1757-1760); Mir Qasim (1760--1763); Mir
Jafar (1763-1765), Najm-ud-daulah (1765-1772).
Sir John Shore (1793-1798)
He succeeded Lord Cornwallis as Governor-General in
1793. He was a sterm believer in the policy of
neutrality. Just after his resuming the office of
Governor-General, he was approached by the Nizam to
help him fight the Marathas in the Battle of Khurdla in
1793. As Shore remained neutral, the Nizam lost the
war and turned towards the French. This brought
resentment among the European officers in his ranks
and they rebelled against him. After this. Shore started
taking active interest in the internal affairs of the
kings. After the death of the Nawab of Oudh, he took
active interest in bringing the rightful heir to the
throne. He returned to England in 1798.
Lord Wellesley (1798-1805)
In 1798, Lord Wellesley succeeded Sir John
Shore with the aim of establishing British supremacy
in India and to put an end to French conspiracy.
During the Governor-Generalship of Lord Wellesley,
the Fourth Mysore War (1799) was fought. This was
the last Mysore war. Tipu Sultan, after regaining lost
strength, set out again on his plan to oust the British
from India with the help of Napolean and the Persian
king. Lord Wellesley, visualizing danger, sought an
alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas and defeated
and killed the valiant Tipu Sultan in 1799, besides war.
Wellesley depended on a system of subsidiary
alliances to expand British territories, whereby the
ruler of an aligning state was compelled to accept
permanent stationing of a British force within his
territory and pay subsidy for its maintenance.
Sometimes a territory was added in lieu of payment. A
ruler also had to accept a British resident. They were
not allowed to employ any European without British
approval nor negotiate with any Indian ruler without
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consulting the Governor-General.Thus subsidiary lost
sovereignty in external matters, while the British
resident interfered in internal administration, thereby
causing the rulers to lose control over their territories.
Governor-Generals between Lord
Wellesley and Lord Francis Hastings
Some records say that lord Wellesley was
succeeded by Lord Cornwallis who took over as
Governor-General in 1805. He wanted to reverse
the neutrality policy adopted by Wellesley but his
health did not allow him to officiate and he died
within 6 months. In1805, he was succeeded by Sir
George Barlow. Barlow made Treaty of Gwalior
and Gohad with Scindia and Treaty of Lahore with
Ranjit Singh in 1805. He is remembered for
withdrawing to Rajput kingdoms. He was replaced
with Lord Minto in 1807; Minto had a difficult time
suppressing the rebellions at Chennai and
Travancore in his initial years. He started
expanding the British establishment further and was
able to get the rights for the areas east of Sutlej
from Ranjit Singh after Treaty of Amritsar. The
Charter Act of 1813 was passed during his tenure.
Lord Francis Hastings (1813-1823)
Under the governorship of Lord Hastings,
Nepal was defeated in 1814, resulting in Nepal ceding
Gharwal and Kumaon to the British. In 1818, the
Marathas made a last attempt to regain their
independence. This led to the Third Anglo-Maratha
War in which the Marathas were completely crushed.
During Hastings’ tenure, various reforms were
initiated such as the ryotwari settlement according to
which direct settlement was made between the
government and the ryots (cultivators). The revenue
was fixed for a period not exceeding 30 years, on the
basis of the quality of the soil. Half the net value of the
crop was to be given to the government. During this
period, special attention was paid to education,
building roads, bridges and canals. Lord Hastings
became the first Governor-General to resign from the
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post on charges of bribery and corruption. He returned
to England in 1823.
Lord William Bentick (1828-1835)
Bentinck wax famous for the social reforms he
introduced, such as the abolition of sati (1820),
suppression of thugee, suppression of female
infanticide and human sacrifices. English was
introduced as the medium of higher education on the
advice of his council member, Thomas Babington
Macaulay. Lord Bentinck also made a pact with
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Punjab. By the
Charter Act of 1833, the company ceased to be a
trading company andbecame an administrative power.
He also adopted some corrective measures in the civil
services. However, it was Cornwallis who founded
theBritish Civil Service in India.
EDUCATION REFORMS Education for the
most part was left in the charge of Indians or with
private agents who imparted instruction in the
vernacular languages. But in 1813, the British became
convinced of their duty to awaken the Indians from
intellectual slumber by exposing them to British
literary traditions, earmarking a party sum for the
cause. Controversy between two groupsEuropeans -
the Orientalists and Anglicists –over the money was to
be spent prevented them from formulating
anyconsistent policy until 1835 when William
Cavendish Bentinck, the Governor-General from 1828
to 1835; finally broke the impasse by resolving to
introduce the English language as the medium of
instruction, English replaced Persian in public
administration and education.
JUDICIAL REFORMSThe judicial system saw
rapid reforms during his tenure. All provincial and
circuit courts were abolished as they were not
functioning satisfactorily. Instead, Bentinck divided
Bengal into 20 districts and appointed a commissioner
in each district, who carried out the functions of the
judges of provincial courts. He also established one
more civil court, Sadar Diwani Adalat and one
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criminal court, Sadar Nizamut Adalat at Allahabad.
Indians were appointed as deputy magistrates and
jurors. The courts also adopted the regional languages
and the use of Persian was discontinued in courts. The
most significant occurrence was the proper
compilation and indexing of laws for the first time,
which made the legal procedure simpler and
dispensation of justice swifter.
SOCIAL REFORMS The Company’s
educational policies in the 1830s tended to reinforce
existing lines of socio-economic division in society
rather than bringing general liberation from ignorance
and superstition. Whereas the Hindu English-educated
minority spearheaded many social and religious
reforms, cither in direct response to government
policies or in reaction to them, Muslims as a group
initially failed to do so, a position they endeavoured to
reverse. The western-educated Hindu elite sought to
rid Hinduism of its much criticized social evils:
idolatry, the caste system, child marriage and sati.
Religious and social activist Raja Ram Mohan Roy
(1772-1833), who founded the Brahmo Samaj (Society
of Brahma) in 1828, displayed a attainments and
skilful use of the press by these early reformers
enhanced the possibility of effecting broad reforms
without compromising societal values or religious
practices.
PUBLIC WELFARE REFORMS Many
roads, bridges and canals were builtduring Bentinck's
tenure, the most significant being the Grand Trunk
Road between Kolkata and Delhi and the road from
Agra to Mumbai. He was also pivotal in the
development of a structured canal system in the north-
eastern frontier. He also permitted the use of steam
boats in the Ganges and in other rivers.
Governor-Generals between Lord `
Bentinck and Lord Dalhousie `
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Lord Bentinck resigned from his post in 1 835 and
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remembered for removing restrictions on the press
and media. After a few months, he was replaced by
Lord Auckland in 1836. During the tenure of Lord
Auckland, the English incurred Heavy losses in the
first Afghan War. He was recalled to England in 1842
and was replaced by Lord Elenbourgh (1842-1844).
During his tenure, the First Sikh War (18451 was
fought between the Sikhs and the British. The Sikhs
were defeated and were brought under British control.
He is remembered for reducing the price of salt by
abolishing the octroi duty on it. He also permitted the
appointment of English-speaking Indians in some
crucial government positions. Henry Hardinge was
the Governor-General from 1844 to 1848.
Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)
Lord Dalhousie succeeded Lord Harding in
1848. During his tenure, the Second Sikh War (1848-
1849) was fought, in which the Sikhs were defeated
again and Dalhousie was successful in annexing the
whole of Punjab to the British dominion. The Doctrine
or Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie, Whereby
it, the absence of a natural heir, the sovereignty of
Indian states was to lapse to the British and such rulers
were not permitted to adopt a son to inherit their
kingdoms.
INFRASTRUCTURAL REFORMSThe
1850s witnessed the introduction of the three engines
of social improvement that the British illusion of
permanence in India. They were the railroad, the
telegraph and the uniform postal service. gurated
during Dalhousie's tenure as Governor General.
Railways The first railroad lines were built in 1850,
from Howrah (Haora, across the Hoogly River from
Kolkata) inland to the coalfields at Raniganj, Bihar,
adistance of 240 km. But this was not used as public
transport. The first railway line, for public use between
Mumbai and Thane, was opened in 1853.
Telegraph In 1851, the first electric telegraph line was
laid in Bengal nd soon Agra, Mumbai, Kolkata,
Lahore, Varanasi and other cities were linked.
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Postal system In 1854, the three different presidencies
or regional postal systems merged to facilitate uniform
methods of communication at an all India level. With
uniform postal rates for letters and newspapers one-
half anna and one anna, respectively (sixteen annas
equalled one rupee) - communication between the rural
and the metropolitan areas became easier and faster.
The increased ease of communication and the opening
of highways and waterways accelerated the movement
of troops, the transportation of raw materials and
goods to and from the interior, and the exchange of
commercial information.
The railroads did not breakdown the social or cultural
distances between various groups but tended to create
new categories in travel. Separate compartments in the
trains were reserved exclusively for the ruling class,
separating the educated and wealthy from ordinary
people. Similarly, when the Sepoy Rebellion was
quelled in 1858, a British official exclaimed that ‘the
telegraph saved India’. He envisages ofcourse that
British interests in India would continue indefinitely.
Other reforms include setting up of the Public Work
Department and passing of the Widow Remarriage
Act. 1856.
` Doctrine of Lapse
` Lord Dalhousie followed vigorously the policy of
` annexing feudatory states by what is commonly
` known as ‘Doctrine of Lapse’.He was convinced that
` British administration was better for the people than
` the rule of Indian kings, Accordingly he regarded
` them as anomalies, to be abolished by every possible
` means. He further believed that good faith must be
` kept with rulers on the throne and with their
legitimate heirs while no sentiment should save the
`
dynasties which had fortified sympathies by
`
generations of misrule or preserve those that had no
`
hereditary successor. The Doctrine of Lapse was that
`
outcome of these principles, complicated by the
` Hindu law and practice of adoptions. Dalhousie held
` that state of ruler could not pass to a son adopted
` without the consent of the suzerain (the company in
`
`
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`
`

this case). Such consents, at the same time, could not
be easily given. The Doctrine of Lapse, which had
been recognized as early as 1834, thus became a
powerful instrument in Dalhousie’s hands for
hastening the process of political unifications and the
administrative consolidation of the country under the
British rule.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE BRITISH
RULE
British colonialism established its firm roots in
India in three stages, each stage representing a
different pattern of subordination of colony and
consequently different colonial policies, ideologies,
impact and the response of colonial people.
Period of Mercantilism (1757-1813) The
objectives of the British during this time were
monopoly of trade and direct appropriation of revenue.
The main features were as follows: very strong
element of plunder and direct seizure of power,
absence/of large-scale import of British goods, no
basic changes in the colony’s administration, judiciary,
culture, and economy and so on.
Period of Laissez. Faire (i813-1860) The main
features of this period were determination of the
administrative policies and economic structure of the
colony by the interests of the industrial bourgeoisie of
the metropolis making colony a subordinate trading
partner which would export raw materials and import
manufactured goods, transformation of the colony’s
economy, polity, administration, society, culture and
ideology under the guise of development and
modernization in order to exploit for furthering British
interests.
Finance Imperialism (1860-1947) This period
was marked by the intense struggle for new, secure
and exclusive markets and sources of raw materials
among the industrialized countries, the consequent
export of capital by these countries to the colonies,
replacement of liberal policies by reactionary ones in
the administration of colonies.
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Drain of Wealth
The British, very systematically, took away
resources and wealth from India. Economists like R. C.
Dutt, Dadabhai Naoroji and others have termed this
systematic act of the British as Economic Drain or the
drain of wealth. The Theory of Drain was propounded
by the nationalist thinkers of India. Their objective was
to study the main causes of poverty in India. The term
Drain implied to ‘the unrequited surplus of exports
over imports that was transferred to England’. The
colonial rule was typically characterized by drain. The
movement of resources from India to England either
without offering anything in return or offering only a
small part of such movement of resources can be
described as the Drain of resources from India.
Dadabhai Naoroji in his book Poverty and Un-British
Rule in India (1871) drew the attention of the masses
towards this trend. He tried to explain the causes of the
drain, to assess the amount of the drain andto trace the
impacts of such drain; through his book he tried to
bring out the fact dial the existing mass poverty in
India was the result of the drain of resources from
India to England.
Forms of Drain of Wealth
As per Dadabhai Naoroji, the following were the
forms of drain of wealth:
1. Payments to England by Europeans, for the
support of families and education of children.
2. Payments of savings by employees of
company, since most employees preferred to
Invest at home.
3. Payments for purchase of British goods to the
consumption of British employees as well as
purchases by them of British goods.
4. Government expenditures for purchase of
stores produced in Britain.
5. Charges of interest on public debt held in
Britain.
6. The government of the India had to make:
huge expenses for maintaining political,
administrative and commercial connections
established between India and England.
Such commitments mode were known as Home.They
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included interest on public debt raised.
They included interest an public debt raised in
England at comparatively higher rates, annuities on
account of railway and irrigation works, payment in
connection with civil departments where Englishmen
were employed, India Office expenses including
pensions to retired officials who had worked in India
or who had worked for India in England and retired
there, and pensions to army and naval personnel and
their payments.
Commercialization of Agriculture
Commercial agriculture that is the production
of crops for sale rather than for own consumption,
grew because of a variety of reasons. One basic reason
was the constant need of the peasants under the new
land systems to find ways of getting money to meet the
mounting demand put upon them by the state. The
peasants started growing only specific crops. The land
in groups of villages was solely used, because of its
special suitability, for the cultivation of a single
agricultural crop such as cotton, jute, wheat, sugarcane
and oil seeds. Another basic reason for the rapid
growth in the cultivation of cash crops was that the
British government of India encouraged this. With the
rise of modern industries in England, the necessity of
raw materials for those industries grew. The British
government in India pursued economic policies which
expanded the area for growth of such raw materials as
needed by the British industries. The government
gradually improved the means of transport which made
commerce in agriculture more widespread. Thus, the
government accelerated the commercialization and
specialization of Indian agriculture.
Results of the commercialization and
specialization of agriculture also disrupted the unity of
agriculture and industry in the traditional Indian
village. Thus the older ruralframework of India,
weakened by the new land system, wasshattered by the
spread of commercial agriculture
Commercialization adversely affected even the
economic position of the agriculturist. As he now
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started produce for the Indian and world market, he
became subject to all vicissitudes of erratic market. He
had tocompete with, formidable international rivals
like the big agrarian trusis, of America, Europe and
Australia which produced on a mass scale by means of
all modern agricultural machinery, while Indian
agriculturist has to cultivate his small strip of land by
means of the labour power of bullocks and the
primitive plough. Further, the commercialization made
him dependent, for the sale of his product, on the
middlemen, the merchants. The merchant by his
superior economy position took full advantage of the
poverty of the peasant. The poor peasant had to sell his
product to the middleman at the harvest time to meet
the revenue claims of the Mate and also the claims of
the moneylender. This transaction originating in sheer
necessity brought a less amount to the peasant than it
would have if he waited. The middleman thus
appropriated a very large share of the profit.
Deindustrialization
The industries which were worst affected by
the policies of the British were the cotton weaving and
spinning industries, silk and woollen industries,
pottery, glass, paper, metal, shipping, oil-pressing,
tanning and dyeing industries. The poor state of the
Indian handicraft industry can be ascribed to the
following causes;
1. Influx of foreign goods with the adoption of
the policy of one-way free trade by the British.
2. The construction of railways which enabled
the British manufacturers to reach the remotest
villages of the country
3. The oppression practiced by the East India
Company and its servants on the craftsmen in
forcing them to sell their goods below the
prevailing wage.
4. The loss of European markets to Indian
manufacturers due to the imposition of high
import duties and other restrictions on the
import of Indian goods.
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 British East India Company and
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5. The gradual disappearance of Indian rulers and

their courts, who were the main customers of
town handicrafts.
6. Rise in the prices of raw materials due to the
British policy of exporting raw materials.

The downslide in Indian industries resulted in the

following;

 Depopulation and ruin of towns and cities

which were famous for their manufactures.
 Increase in unemployment due to the absence
of the growth of modern industries.
 Breaking of the union between agriculture and
domestic industry in the countryside which in
turn led to the destruction of the self-sufficient
village economy.
 Overcrowding of agriculture by the ruined
artisans, thus adding to the general pressure on
land.

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